Sez Who?

So I saw something yesterday that made me start to come out of my chair and yell at my computer. And I would have, but it was stormy outside and my puppy was curled up behind my office chair.

An Article saying the NRA has endorsed Missouri Attorney General Chris (Flipper) Koster for Governor. It’s short and ugly:

The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund on Tuesday endorsed Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee.

In its endorsement, the group praised Koster’s position on Second Amendment rights.

“On behalf of the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund, I am pleased to announce your  ‘A’ rating and endorsement for Governor in the 2016 Missouri General Election,” wrote the super-PAC’s chairman, Chris Cox.

“I thank you for never wavering from your Second Amendment beliefs. As you know, your long and distinguished Second Amendment record is greatly appreciated by your fellow NRA members in Missouri and the United States of America,” he added.

Koster welcomed the endorsement and further pledged to defend the Second Amendment as governor.

“I am pleased to receive the endorsement of the NRA,” he wrote in a statement.

“As a rural prosecutor, State Senator, and now as Attorney General, I have long defended Missouri’s hunting heritage and Second Amendment rights. As Governor, I pledge to continue to protect the traditions and values of people across Missouri.”

Koster leads his Republican opponent, retired Navy SEAL Eric Greitens by an average of 6.3 points, according to RealClearPolitics.

Let’s just chat about this, shall we? Backstory is good, backstory and Israeli coffee are always good. And since I’ve have both, I’ll share, at least the backstory part.

The first item up is the Department of Revenue scandal, it broke first. The Missouri Department of Revenue was illegally complying with the REAL ID act by sending the private data of Missourians to a company out of state called Morpho-Trust, they were illegally collection biometric data on Missourians using a Department of Homeland Security grant to do these things. They lied about it to the legislature telling them they used the grant to purchase hole punches and similar office equipment. Yeah, you can tell the department was headed up by a Gov. Jay Nixon-D appointee. But the woman behind a bunch of this, ala Valerie Jarrett was Jackie Bemboom. Who knew better, but instead of following Missouri law, she complied illegally with REAL ID and sold out Missourians to the Federal Government. But her betrayal didn’t end there. The Missouri Department of Revenue gave ALL the information on Missouri’s concealed carry holders to the federal government. Via the Missouri Highway Patrol. The Governor Jay Nixon-D denied their was a database of CCW holders turned over. But there was. They Highway patrol admitted they had done it. At first they said it was a Social Security request for a list of Missouri’s CCW holders. Then it became a joint request, social security AND the ATF. And they gave it to them. How, you ask, did they deliver the data on Missouri’s concealed carry holders? Why, they sent it in an Excel file. On a disc. With a password. Which was included in the cover letter sent WITH the disc. Sent via regular US mail. Lots and lots of mis-doing here, illegal actions, betrayal of ALL Missourians with the data base of info sent to Morpho-Trust, a French company. Missouri law prohibits data on Missourians from being sent out of state, I believe. And so did Chris “Flipper” Koster-D SPRING into action to go after those that broke the law? Um, no, not so much. In fact, not at all. Oh? The “Flipper” part you ask? Flipper used to be a Republican, till 2008 I believe when he sensed the political winds would go with the barry sotero in his bid for the Presidency and changed to a Dimocrat. Then he got the nickname “Flipper”. Backstory IS good, isn’t it. So no, Flipper that great NRA endorsed candidate did zip, zilch, nada about this one.

You can listen to Sen. Kurt Schaefer talk about it on the Dana show to know just how bad this really was.

Dana has some good links and information on her site regarding this.

You can read more about the DOR scandal at Missouri Family Network’s web site. They are the ones that broke the news of the scandal and were all over it.

http://missourifamilynetwork.net/cat/mo-dor/

So let’s move forward to September 2013. Missouri had a beautiful piece of legislation that was going to become law. The Second Amendment Protection act. Nullifying federal gun control laws that were in conflict with the Missouri Constitution, preventing newspapers from publishing the names and addresses of gun owners like some newspapers in other states have done, good stuff, things like that. Predictably Gov. Jay Nixon-D vetoed it. Anything that protects or restores gun rights is an anathema to Gov. Nixon-D. But, the Missouri legislature has overridden Anti-gun governors before. As they did “One Term” Bob Holden-D when he vetoed Missouri’s Concealed Carry law. One Term Bob is probably wishing the people of Missouri had given him a Attorney General as duplicitous as Flipper. The veto override should have been a done deal. It was passed with a veto proof majority. But that didn’t happen. For the first time Missouri’s GRASSROOTS Second Amendment groups held TWO rallies in one year. The purpose of the second rally was just to encourage the veto override of The Second Amendment Protection Act.

Why you ask would this be necessary? Well, I’ll let Sen. Brian Nieves tell you about it. From the second rally on September 11, 2013.

Yeah, boy howdy. That Flipper sure is a stalwart of gun rights isn’t he?

And now a word about the NRA, and their “pro-gun” help in the state of Missouri.

The NRA is a BIG part of the reason it took Missourians an additional 13 years to get concealed carry. But that’s another story. Let’s just look at 2014. Missouri tried again for a Second Amendment Protection act. Sen. Brian Nieves the bill’s sponsor accepted a fairly inoffensive amendment from Sen. Nasheed-D, a rabid anti-gun liberal. It was about one sentence.

“Section 2. Upon becoming aware that a firearm has been stolen, a person shall have seventy-two hours to report such theft.”

Here’s the NRA email blast sent out about it,

Missouri: De-facto Gun Owner Registry Legislation Moving In Missouri Senate! Call Your Senators NOW!

The “offending” sentence was stripped out of the bill, and as she promised Nasheed-D filibustered the bill. The point of accepting the one sentence amendment was she wouldn’t filibuster.

The unlikely pair of Senators even had a press conference about it.

The NRA lied. They tried to sink the SAPA, again. Missouri is not the only state that has had problems with the NRA trying to stop state sovereignty legislation. Florida has I know, as has Wyoming around the same time period.

So, Missourians have already suffered greatly due to the NRA’s “help” and the “pro-gun stalwart” Flipper Koster-D. And the NRA is proudly endorsing Flipper-D for Governor, perfect.

Let me make a couple of things clear here though. I am NOT endorsing Eric Greitens, and this column is not about pointing out what a piece of sh cr work Koster-D is, though he is. The point is those little orange NRA cards are fixing to flood mailboxes soon, very soon. And people will believe them. The NRA does have some good programs, Eddie Eagle and some of their women’s programs are good. But when it comes to politics and legislation? I have yet to see them be of much, if any, help in Missouri, and I have really good sources there.

So, when it comes to elections this year, I’m going to ask you to consider something. IF you get one of those orange cards or NRA endorsements, PLEASE, don’t just say “ok” and do it. Double check the information with a Second Amendment Rights group like Gun Owners of America. They do good candidate ratings. For local races, if you are not part of a local grassroots Second Amendment rights group, join one or at least check with them on their web site to see who they are endorsing. When you do that, you might double check to make sure they are independent of the NRA and not just towing the party line.

This is only ONE race taking place in the US, in ONE state and look what I was able to come up with on the NRA endorsed candidate. A man who has cost Missourians state sovereignty legislation. So before you believe that little orange card, or let your friends believe that little orange card when you hear “endorsed by” ask SEZ WHO? Are THEY credible? While we can never depend on politicians to save us, we don’t have to make it harder on ourselves either.

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

11 thoughts on “Sez Who?”

  1. Gun control: controlling yourself while you hold a gun. Hitting what you aim at…

    NRA: Largest gun control by government effort in history.
    NRA Supported the National Firearms Act of 1934
    http://jpfo.org/articles-assd02/nra-supported-nfa34.htm

    Also happens to offer the most effective, nationwide gun and self defense training program. What a discord… They ought to go back to doing the training with excellence, and leave the politics to others.

  2. Question. Why would social security need a list of concealed carry people? I can understand atfe wanting to subjugate state sovereignty they are the only federal agency specifically formed to defeat a Constitutional right. What does the SSA have to gain with this information?

    1. They don’t. That was just a cover by the MO State Police.

      Unless, of course, the SSA was going after those who name a fiduciary to handle their finances as “mentally defective” and they need a handy list of known gun owners to cross-reference.

    2. I remember hearing somewhere a couple years back that they (SSA) wanted that information provided by Doctors whether a patient was a gun owner or not so their mental prowess could be evaluated. Sort of a threat to SA rights of folks on medicare. A Doctor providing a list of senior patient gun owners coupled with SSA (Medicare) records could help Medicare substantiate or identify mental or physical incapacity of patients who should not be covered under second amendment rights. Am not real certain, but believe NRA was advocate against such medical disclosure and that sneaky backdoor ploy by SSA failed to materialize. If NRA does not endorse a candidate for public office, that’s where I take a closer look. I have been an NRA member for over 25 years, and believe the NRA has worked diligently to honestly and certainly protect gun owners from frivilous gun controls of any kind, IMHO

  3. I agree Mama Liberty, however many will just get those little orange cards and say “S’ok”. I’m trying to give folks some solid reason for questioning that. And perhaps they will pass it along if it comes up in conversation with friends. I wish they’d stay out of the endorsement game too and stick to teaching.

    Tom, interesting question! I think they originally said it was ONLY a SSA investigation because they knew if they told the truth about the ATF being involved people would have howled louder and quicker. They would have realized it was a list of gun owners handed over to the federal government. But here’s a couple of tidbits. With the new electronic health records demanded by obamacare, agencies that I think shouldn’t be able to access your health or benefit records probably can. Remember barry saying he thought if you took certain types of medications you shouldn’t be able to own a gun? After the ATF got the list of gun owners the SSA suddenly dropped the investigation and destroyed the data. WHO does that in a criminal investigation? And how many of these people did Flipper Koster go after? None. Jackie Bemboom is still employed by the state last I heard, they just shuffled her to a different department. How many employees can get away with breaking the law, state law, and still keep their jobs? Ain’t government work grand?

    Now courtesy of the Missouri Department of Revenue, they have biometric data shared illegally, a list of gun owners shared illegally and they can monitor us courtesy of red light cameras. All this and Flipper did not a thing. Yep, NRA endorsed Koster, a stalwart of gun rights and protector of gun owners for sure.

    1. Yep, NRA endorsed Koster, a stalwart of gun rights and protector of gun owners for sure.

      Yep, just like Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), their “true champion of the Second Amendment.”

      ‘Nuff said.

  4. You want to know why this constitutional republic is going down the drain & fast?

    Well when organizations like the NRA who are suppose to be standing up for the constitution and instead are compromising so that they can be on the winning side; who then is defending the constitution; IMHO not they!

    The problem is that the groups that the are standing up for the constitution like The Zelman Partisans, will never be heard because the media is either controlled by the progressives on the left or the progressives on the so-called right that run the likes of Fox News and BTW those that control the news know very well that what you report on is as important as what you do not when promoting their agenda’s!

  5. Sheila, I first saw this at Wirecutters, he sent me here to follow up. I first joined the NRA when Obama was elected. After becoming better informed, I let my membership expire. I have seen some of their endorsements, and some of the things that they stand up in support of, such as terror watch lists and such. They are the reason that we have so many gun laws on the books in the first place. Instead of bargaining with the anti-gun liberals, what they should have been doing from the very beginning is saying not just no, but Hell No! You are not going to pass laws that infringe upon our rights as guaranteed by the constitution. And then they should have dug their heels into the ground so firmly that the tracks could have been seen from the space station. The old saying that if you give an inch they will take a mile has proven to be so very true, and yet the NRA continues to give inches whenever they bargain with the left. I for one will not give an inch more. I understand how frustrated many of you longtime freedom fighters must be. I have only been involved for a short time, and I have gone from a reasonable person to someone who is angry and will stand for no more of the governments infringing upon my rights.

    1. It’s even worse. Look at their propaganda. They actually *approve* of the NICS check for guns bought from FFLs.

      (Note: all things I put in quotes are my paraphrasings of their stances, since I’m imagining what NRA pukes would say when challenged.)

      Now someone is going to come over here and protest that “no, they agreed to that bill, because the alternative of a 14 day waiting period would have been worse.” Bullshit! They’re reading what they HOPE the NRA means into what the NRA is saying, which is ONLY that they’re proud of NICS.

      If their stance was that they avoided complete disaster with a compromise, they’d say so. Instead of being proud to have helped pass NICS, they’d say something like “When the gun grabbers wanted a 14 day waiting period with a background investigation, we at least got them to make it almost instant.”

      Instead, they’re proud of “keeping guns out of the hands of criminals.”

      They’ve been fairly good about fighting restrictions on kinds of guns (at least in the context of non-NFA items), and I’ll concede we (i.e., we who aren’t totally denied our right by the government) would probably have fewer choices today were it not for them, but they are abominable on the right of possession of guns in general–doing their best to ensure no one has ANY choices without government permission, because “criminals.”

      The problem with supporting NICS is [OK there are other problems too, but set them aside for the moment] you have NO leg to stand on when you oppose “universal background checks.” If it’s desirable to BG a new gun purchase from an FFL, why is it bad to run the check on a used gun purchase? Or ANY transfer, even if at the range where I say, “Hey, Pigpen, try out my new CZ.” Why is it wonderful to do a BG check for one transfer, and horrible, We-the-NRA-will-dig-in-our-heels-against-Manchin-Toomey-bad, to do one for others? The NRA has no leg to stand on in this circumstance, because they blew it off themselves with their own 000-buck 8 gauge.

      (PS: I keep hearing that ANY sort of background check bill was totally dead in 1993 or 94…but that the NRA resurrected what is now NICS from the dead…and that we’d have nothing whatsoever if it weren’t from them. I don’t know, one way or the other, but if true, it makes things truly bad; not only do they support what we have now (when they shouldn’t), they actively made sure it would suck this much.)

      1. SteveInCo, You will find no disagreement from me on anything about this. The one thing I do hate is that of the so called NFA items. Why is a shotgun with a 16 inch barrel safe for all, but cut an inch off of it, and suddenly you need to go through hoops and spend money to make sure it is not going to spontaneously combust or something. The same with a Fully automatic gun. I have seen the video of Jerry Miculek. He shoots a revolver just about as fast as a fully automatic firearm. So tell me why does he not have to get a tax stamp on his hands and his eyes, since they are so fast as to make a fully automatic weapon, just like a shoelace.
        I am afraid that my grandmothers sage old advice always comes back to me. She used to say , ” Birds of a feather flock together.” Well, the NRA sure seems to flock pretty closely together with a lot of the same people who would infringe upon the very freedoms that they swear they are trying to protect. Smart lady, my dear old departed grandmother. I miss her. But I won’t ignore her wisdom.

    2. Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Speak softly, but carry a big stick”. The NRA carries a big stick and speaks softly. We will never lose SA rights in America as long as thinking people vote their consciences. The NRA isn’t America’s problem, it’s the politicians and voters who are leaning to the far left. When the far left takes on the far right, there will be hell to pay. The NRA just wants to protect SA rights and keep our gun rights safely sacrosanct under the Constitution. If politicians ever call for a Constitutional Convention, and one is approved, may God help us all! I am certain that you certainly know, as I know, we will never give up our guns in our lifetime, but what will our children and grandchildren do when we are gone? This is why gun education is so important. This is the real blessing of NRA and its membership. Curse the wind and inherit the whirlwind!

Leave a Reply to James Bolin Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *